TV Ratings: Newsmax TV Touts Wins Over CNBC, FOX Business

Newsmax TV surpassed both Fox Business and CNBC in daytime ratings the day after Election Day.

Nielsen reported Wednesday that Newsmax drew 287,000 average viewers per minute in the key daypart 9am to 4pm, outpacing CNBC with 285,000 viewers and Fox Business with 281,000.

Newsmax also outpaced Fox Business in primetime, with 205,000 viewers compared to 138,000.

The Nielsen rating only tells part of the story. OTT viewership on platforms like YouTube added an additional 100,000 per minute live viewers tuned into Newsmax TV on Wednesday.

"We're in less cable homes, our channel position is usually not as good as competitors, and our brand is less known, yet we're beating these guys," Chris Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax TV said. "We have a better mousetrap and viewers are flocking to us."

Ruddy noted Newsmax's new programming lineup, including shows like "Greg Kelly Reports" and Sean Spicer's "Spicer & Co." only started this year.

"Our trajectory is like a rocket right now," Ruddy said.

On Election Night, Nielsen reported Newsmax TV's coverage was watched by 3 million viewers, with as many as 600,000 viewers per minute.

Nielsen also reported 1 million of Newsmax's election night viewers watched exclusively and never tuned into Fox News or another cable news channel.